Rocket Dog. Interesting name. Pours a bright golden straw, with a nice amount of clarity. It's lighter and more yellow than I was expecting, as I typically expect beers brewed with rye to be more red in color. Nice fizzy half inch head crowns the glass. Prodigious amount of hop aroma hits the nose first, with waves of grassy and spicy notes piercing the nostrils. First taste hints at the nice carbonation and a smooth bitterness that coats the palate. Taste is very hop forward, with a freshly mown grass character hitting the palate first. Grapefruit is up next, with some honey sweetness in the middle rounding things out there's also a nice and sweet, almost like bell pepper, spiciness that finishes the beer. The rye takes a back seat in this beer, as it offers a solid pillar in the background. This beer is all about hops, and I can appreciate that in an IPA.

first off, I almost gave is -.5 on appearance because this bottle illustration is horrible. But that is unfair to the beer.

cream colored head with fairly low head retention. although holding to the glass for every sip. excellent orange color. average clarity. looks nice.

Smells of citrus hops. grapefruits. malty sweet. Like a good American IPA.

As well, it tastes like an American made IPA. I can't really detect Rye content. I was really hoping for more of a rye presence, that is kind of why I bought the bottle. Suiting bitterness that tends to linger after the sip. Tastes nice and fresh. Very hoppy.

A cloudy pale amber color with a fistful of light oatmeal colored head and very decent lacing. The aroma shows a peppery citrus yeast bomb. I get a rye note for sure but it's very "green". The flavor says sharp citrus hops and bright alcohol tinged rye bread. There's a sweet yeast burn with heavy grass/leaf bite. It has a somewhat medicinal edge with an initially elusive rye bread base. It's a medium bodied brew with fair carbonation and it brings a mouth feel that is almost watery in a silky way. It is very easy drinking. The rye idea builds as you go and I pick up some alcohol hints. Definitely a unique brew with very good rye presence. However, it doesn't capture my highest praise. Worth a try and one I would certainly drink again. Not one I'll seek out though.

Simcoe really dominates in taste. I couldn't pick up on the rye because the hop profile was so preeminent. No caramel like in many ipas though, this was a light body. Mouthfeel was lacking because I didn't get any rye spice going on, but I still loved the overall taste. I'd have to guess that the rye cannot make up more than 10% of the malt bill in this one. Very dry. At only $4 a bomber, this stuff is extremely drinkable.

First off, disclaimer, I'm a sucker for Rye IPAs. It was one of my first concoctions as a brewer, and I thought I was a genius. Little did I know how many other geniuses there are out there. Secondly, this is an outstanding beer. A beautiful pour, cloudy orange, the sweetness is perfect, the hops blend together effortlessly. This is easily one of my favorite IPAs. The beer is a touch on the sweet side, but for some reason, Simcoe hops tend to balance a little sweetness and turn a beer into a thing of beauty. The rye is right on, and I like the choice of Munich malt as well. The hop combo punch of Simcoe, Columbus, and Cascade are divine. Well crafted, thank you..

First impression, this is a solid, everyday drinkable beer, and I mean everyday...this beer is one of the better balanced RIPA's i've had and could drink this everyday. Perfect balance, sweetness, but that rye back that works for me. I'm looking for more, anybody want a pliny??

A: This poured a hazy light copper with some off-white head.S: It smelled like sweet creamy oranges and bready yeast, with a bit of caramel malt.T: It tasted like orange and citrus hops with sweet honey and caramel malt and bready yeast. It had a lasting bitter herbal aftertaste with slight rye dryness.M: It was slightly thick with a little carbonation.D: This was a good beer, but not great. It had an enjoyable flavor, but weak rye element and the aftertaste was a bit harsh. The body was good and the alcohol was well hidden, so it was pretty easy to drink. But ultimately mediocre.

Nose is big. Very hop forward with big pine resin and citrus. Simcoe dominates. Malt backbone is apparent but definitely knows it role and walks head bowed and subordinate.

Hop flavor is very complete and strong. Bold but not harsh. The uniqueness of the Simcoe remains throughout. Rich & piney with citrus notes bursting throughout. The malt balance is spot on and backs up the hops very nicely. The Rye is present but not overwhelming. It sits on the edges adding but not dominating. More would engulf, less would be pointless. Warm alcohol comes through but is in no way distracting. Rich and full with lingering bitterness and wisps of rye.

This pours absolutely gorgeous. Bronze body and creamy inch and a half head. The first sign of trouble arrives the instant I smell it. Whoa, the nose could easily double for the smell of microwave popcorn. There's so much butter here I feel fatter just having smelled it. Diacetyl city baby.

Hoping for the best I take a sip and it's a no go. The butter barbarians have conquered anything that might have tried to carve out a living here. Two sips and this bad boy is fed to the drain like liquefied pennies. Thanks for nothing I guess.

D: Although I don't get alot of Rye flavor from this one, it's still a nice flavorfull IPA. Big hop presence, with just enough malt to keep in from being unbalanced. I would definitely pick this one up again.

Great dome of foamy, minute bubbles. Leaves spotty, but chunky, lace. The liquid is very cloudy. The color is orange-amber.

Smell: Very pleasant blend of dry-ish malt and fresh floral hop. This beer doesn't have the spiciness of some IPA's. If there is rye, it isn't obvious other than perhaps giving it the dry touch.

The hop is the predominate flavor. It's particularly prickly in the swallow. It leaves a long hop bomb aftertaste. On the initial sip, some lighter malts appear very briefly--no sweetness like the smell. The mouthfeel is particularly nice: Lots of creaminess with a decent level of carbonation.

22 picked up at Enoteca in Post Falls over the weekend for $5.. I've had this on tap a couple times before, and was pleasantly surprised if my memory is correct.

3 finger rocky white head.. okay retention with great lacing for the entire glass... the brew is a polished deep golden.

Nose is chock full of resinous hops.. very fruity with a lesser piney hoppiness.. pale malts and hints of toast are there, but only in the background.

Good bitterness up front.. hoppy flavors move in pretty quickly with a pronounced floral profile combining well with the fruity hops.. the pine is much less than the aroma... the malts again have a distinct toasty profile... not getting any real "rye" other than an interesting slickness in the palate that I can only assume is from the rye malt.

Lite/medium body with nice carbonation that seems deflated (in a good way) by the slick mouthfeel.

I doubt I would have put this in the "rye" category as I feel this is a pretty solid IPA with rye added.. The hops push most everything else to the outer perimeter.

Glad I bought 2... gonna share the other with the Boise peeps and see what their attuned palates pick up.

Chilled bomber into a glass. A generous gift from ramnuts. Thanks, Frank!

A: Pours a clear, apricot-gold body with a finger of long-lasting white foam. Nice, sticky lace in the first half of the glass.

S: Lots of pine. LOTS of it, and there's something vegetal about the aroma that I can't quite place. It's earthy and even slightly floral. I don't get much malt in the nose, either normal or rye variety.

T: Incredibly piney -- lots of that flavor plus a strong, associated earthy and floral bitterness. It completely kills any attempt at tasting malt or rye in the beer; I don't get any of the telltale, spicy bite that would signal use of rye. It just tastes like bitter hop juice.

Wow, does this beer make a good first impression - tangy, musky, piny, and rich. The flavor made me search for the right comparison. It took a while but then I found it - ice cream. Chocolate chip ice cream. I know this sounds weird, but it is kind of good.

Pours hazy golden with a nice fluffy head. The aroma is hoppy, with pine and citrus. The flavor has a riot of hops - pine, earth, citrus, apricot, flowers. Behind it is a creamy and pleasant malt backbone. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth.

Beer pours a shade of pale straw, completely clear, and appears very watery and one dimensional. Tons of bubbles rise throughout and feed a thick, soapy 1 finger white head that leaves behind tons of thick, pillowy lace.

Really no nose to speak of. There's the slightest hint of sappy hops, but that's a stretch.

I don't know if it's the rye or it's the hops, but there is a strange and undeniably distinct dominating flavor of radishes - yes, radishes - in this beer. It is most present right after swallowing and hangs around prominently in the aftertaste. Normally something like this would take me a while to place in the flavor of a beer, but this is quite evident to me. After getting over the initial confusion, I start to notice more dimensions in the beer. The malts are crispy and toasted. The slick dankness in the flavor comes from the earthy, sappy hops. There's a slightly watery yet sappy feel to this beer that suffers a little from overly gentle carbonation. Alcohol shows more in the profile than expected from the ABV.

I know I haven't made this beer sound all the amazing, but it is decent. The imbalance of the flavors and the carbonation that doesn't seem to pair well with the style drops the drinkability overall for me, but it isn't terrible. Just thought it could have been better.

Served in straight pint glass. Poured a semi-hazy orange yellow color with an inch of fluffy, white head that had good retention and lacing.

The aroma was dominantly pine hops, perhaps a touch of citrus, with no apparent malt or Rye in the nose. The taste was also strongly piney hops and there was some Rye noticeable on the tongue, This was a fairly tasty beer that had a nice, dry finish.

The body was good, clean, dry, easy drinking and refreshing. Drinkability was very good, it would be easy to have several of these. Overall, a very nice beer, worth some effort to try.

Caught somewhere between a Rye Beer and an IPA, this beer becomes dangerously close to being great.

Deep golden to amber in color, the beer carries a very mild haze while showcasing a thick white head and impressive lacing.

Rocket Dog begins with an enticing sweetness that boarders on caramel malts, cotton candy, and tropical fruits. This blend is reminescent of the elegant, malty complex found in Pliney the Elder. The malts buckle with intense citrus hops that not only provide the crispness and cleanness of hop flavor but for bittering that demands attention as an IPA. Estery fruits of pineapple, mangos, and strawberries provide an odd but encouraged profile. Unfortunately, a medium butter note comes into play, providing the only distraction.

The rye gives a strong pungent and earthy flavor that is malty, yet more. Spicy and deep, the rye gives a lot of complexity to the pale malt base, sweeter complimentary grains, and provide a bridge towards the spicy and bitter hops.

All this woven into a medium-full mouthfeel, creamy and rounded up front. But the beer dries out beautifully driving toward the finish. But the beer ultimately holds onto some of that cotton candy sweetness that makes the nose and initial taste so good. But again, that butter character lays a bit heavy on the mouth's surfaces.

The beer does a lot of things very well, just wish the buttery diacetyl character wasn't so aggressive. Thanks BrewsB4Shrews!

I first tried this beer at the 2008 OBF, where I believe it was first introduced. I gather it was a success, as I've seen it on an increasingly regular basis in Portland. Seems to me they've tweaked the recipe a bit since the OBF, as I think there's now a bit more malt and rye in the nose and palate.

I listed this as a rye beer, but I believe the brewery refers to it as a red rye IPA. In any event, it's pretty impressive stuff.

The beer pours a reddish amber color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose I get a considerable amount of hoppy bitterness, coupled with some roasty malt and rye. The beer smells pretty nice, though personally I wouldn't mind if they'd cut back on the malt. The flavors on the palate replicate the nose. There is some good citrus, but with the extra malt imparting some interesting apple and cherry flavors. The rye adds another flavor dimension which is quite nice as well. The beer is medium bodied and it finishes pretty well. Abv. is pretty well disguised, but I'm not sure how many of these I could put away. At least for me, the excessive sweet roasty malt impairs the beer's drinkability just a bit. Regardless, this is a very solid beer, one of the better efforts I've had from Laughing Dog.